Manufacturing Business Growth: More Effective Marketing Messages

I wrote in my last article about how Bill Testa's data on Current Developments in Manufacturing Activity contain a seed of hope for manufacturers looking for profitable top line growth. This article discusses the second and third steps that I believe Greater ChicagoLand's 12,500 small and medium sized manufacturers must immediately take to profitably sell their average 15% readily available capacity (and Bill Testa showed us that there's another 15% available on top of that).

Let's begin by accepting my earlier argument that manufacturers' marketing messages can rapidly and greatly be improved to answer the basic question asked by potential customers in the target market, "what's in it for me?" What next? Research shows that marketing messages that clearly communicate a high overt numeric benefit advantage are three times more likely to be successful (38% chance) than those that communicate a low benefit (13% chance). Research also shows, however, that manufacturers double their odds of success when they communicate a real reason to believe that the overt benefit will be delivered. How can Joe's Tool and Die on the Southside of Chicago do that? Well, Joe has five basic choices; he can

• Tell the truth about the overt benefit advantages he delivers
• Cite testimonials
• Show the pedigree of his methods and materials
• Provide data or show a demonstration
• Offer a guarantee

Joe should never let a customer say "no" because they don't understand what he can do for them. Any one of the five approaches above can be used to create a belief in the customer's mind that Joe will deliver the specific overt numeric benefit advantage(s) he's promising. And Joe should focus his promises on one or two benefits.

If Joe wants higher profit margins, the research data speaks loud and clear as to where Joe should go: to new customers and new markets. This may seem counterintuitive, but in today's tough economy, it may be all too easy for Joe to aquiesce to an existing customer's request for "a little break on pricing". Joe's going to need a dramatic difference to win new customers and break into new markets; that may seem a daunting task, but the rewards are there. The research proves that when Joe offers a high dramatic difference in his real reason to believe that he'll deliver on his specific overt numeric benefit advantage, his odds of success go up to 53%.

New customers love news and hope. When Joe offers legal and newsworthy claims about being the "first" and the "only" manufacturer to offer specific numeric benefit advantages (backed up by real reasons to believe that he'll deliver), he's made the customer care about choosing him.

Chicago's small and medium sized manufacturers looking for rapid and profitable top line growth can get there with a focused effort on creating more effective marketing messages that give their sales force (whatever that may be) the tools and motivation to get out in the field with increased hope and confidence.

Alistair Stewart

Manufacturing prophet with a passion for Manufacturing Profits